When you take a brand-new IQinVision camera out of the box, it does not have any fixed network parameters configured.
Per default the camera is configured for DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol).
DHCP is a client/server protocol that automatically provides an Internet Protocol (IP) host with its IP address and other related configuration information such as the subnet mask and default gateway. If no DHCP server is configured in the network, the camera will obviously not get IP address/subnet mask/gateway parameters from the DHCP. If this is the case, the camera will use the APIPA (Automatic Private IP Addressing) protocol.
With the APIPA protocol, DHCP cameras can automatically self-configure an IP address and subnet mask when a DHCP server isn't available. When a DHCP camera boots up, it first looks for a DHCP server in order to obtain an IP address and subnet mask. If the camera is unable to find the information, it uses APIPA to automatically configure itself with an IP address from a range that has been reserved especially for this purpose. The IP address range is 169.254.0.1 through 169.254.255.254. The camera also configures itself with a default class B subnet mask of 255.255.0.0. A camera uses the self-configured IP address until a DHCP server becomes available.
The APIPA service also checks regularly for the presence of a DHCP server (every five minutes). If it detects a DHCP server on the network, APIPA stops, and the DHCP server replaces the APIPA networking addresses with dynamically assigned addresses.
IQfinder and IQmanager are tools to discover IQinVision camera on the network. It does not matter if the cameras have a DHCP, an APIPA or a fixed IP address. So in all cases, these tools should be able to locate the cameras, provided they are on the same subnet as the host running IQfinder and IQmanager.
IQ finders comes on a mini-CD with a new camera, but IQfinder and IQmanager can also be downloaded from the Vicon website: http://www.vicon-security.com/learn-and-support/software-downloads/#iqeye-camera-software
IQfinder and IQmanager find camera by using the so called ‘Bonjour’ protocol.
Bonjour locates devices such as camera, printers, other computers, and the services that those devices offer on a local network using multicast Domain Name System (mDNS) service records. When an mDNS client needs to resolve a host name, it sends an IP multicast query message that asks the host having that name to identify itself. That target machine then multicasts a message that includes its IP address. All machines in that subnet can then use that information to update their mDNS caches.
The Bonjour/multicast Domain Name System (mDNS) protocol is an industry standard. There are a number of utilities available that provide a browser to display all the devices with a Bonjour service on the network. These browsers will show IQinVision cameras, along with other devices that support Bonjour. These tools can be handy as they will locate cameras on the network without knowing its IP address. Typically with a DHCP server, you don’t know what IP address is assigned to the device.
There are some 3th party tools and utilities that help discover devices on the network.
Note that Vicon or IQinVision are not associated to any of the programs mentioned below.
Vicon or IQinVision do not endorse or support the tools mentioned below.
These tools, informations and links are to be used at your own discretion.
http://hobbyistsoftware.com/bonjourbrowser
A simple browser to identify Bonjour devices on the network, and show the details in the response from the device, such as MAC address, firmware, current IP address etc.
http://marknelson.us/2011/10/25/dns-service-discovery-on-windows/
An article that covers the Bonjour for Windows SDK from Apple, with a sample tool and source code:
https://developer.apple.com/bonjour/index.html
Bonjour SDK for Windows is intended to be used to create your own applications, for instance in MS Visual Studio.
If you install the Bonjour SDK for Windows it also installs a plug-in for Internet Explorer.
In the browser's toolbar, you should see the Bonjour icon (a swirling icon), and if you click on it, on the left will be a table, listing all the cameras, printers and services found on the network. Clicking on the device will open the web interface of the device in the IE window. This allows you to access the device' web interface, without knowing it's current IP address:
Note: Depending on the model and firmware of the camera, the camera may behave differently. For instance, older cameras, or older firmware, may not use DHCP per default, but use a default IP address of 0.0.0.0. instead. Older cameras, or older firmware may not support the Bonjour protocol.